Celtic Recruitment Analysis (Part 1) by Target Scouting

Celtic Recruitment Analysis
by Target Scouting

Preface
Since our return in October 2024, Target Scouting's mission has been to
provide an optimal pathway into the football industry by leveraging our
well-established platform to offer support and visibility. We are
continuously exploring ways to enhance the scouting capabilities of our
contributors.
We are pleased to introduce our new format, in which contributors take
turns serving as ‘Head of Scouting’ and leading projects such as this
document. For this project, Aidan McHenry has assumed the role of
Head of Scouting, with Caleb Wilkins, Joe Pearce, Michal Wojcik, and Alek
Sánchez contributing as scouts.
As mentors, we—Jeroen Tegelaers and Josse van Bakel—have provided
guidance and support to the team throughout the development of this
document.

1. Current Situation
2. RW Role & Style
3. Data Analysis
4. Video Analysis
5. Recommendations
Table of Contents

1. Current Situation
Recent reports link Celtic’s star winger Nicolas Kühn with a move to the
Premier League. James Forrest is aging and Hyun-jun Yang unproven,
so it is reasonable to expect the club to reinvest the potential large sum
back into the right wing position.
On the back line, Cameron Carter-Vickers has been linked with a transfer
to Bayer Leverkusen, although he has recently refuted it. If he were to
test his abilities in a top 5 league, Celtic would likely be looking to fortify
the center of their defense for the second half of the season with a
player of similar age and physical profile with a more progressive
mindset to start for Brendan Rodgers.
In part one, the Target Scouting staff explores options to replace Kühn
at right winger.

2. RW Role & Style
At right wing, Celtic would be looking to replace Kühn with a prime age
(~25) or younger left footer who is smaller, agile, has a 1v1 threat, is able
to both link play and get into scoring positions, and an overall positive in
possession despite being a risk-taker in distribution.
This role within Celtic’s tactical set up is important as it is a primary
creative outlet in Rodgers’. current system. Out of their 4-3-3, they have
4-2-3-1 flexibility with emphasis on possession espeiclaly in the short
buildup. After the buildup, Kühn thrives in the 1v1 situations created by
his teammates breaking the press or Kasper Schmeichel hitting him on a
direct ball to spur a transition opportunity. With these layers to the
attacking tactics, it is important that Kühn’s replacement be able to
make lots of runs in behind trying to exploit the back line while also
being a dynamic threat on the dribble.
Wingers for Celtic stay high and wide and cut inside with the ball and
only get narrow when possession is opposite to them. In the press, they
have high press activation but quickly retreat in to a mid-block if the
initial press is broken.
Celtic should look to spend around €12 million, €15 million on the high
end if they do get upward of €20 million for their in form forward. They
would prefer a dynamic wide playmaker or inverted winger to slot into
Rodgers’ front line.

3. Data Analysis
Based on the role of Nicolas Kühn and Cameron Carter-Vickers, we were
able to create a data profile for the required profiles. We are looking at a
player who can both create and score goals and who likes to take on
opponents while tucking inside.
After retrieving the right metrics and creating a few metrics of our own,
such as successful dribbles per received pass, we created a code to
calculate the scores for each player in the dataset. We ended up with
the following top 15 for the right-wing position after running the code.
This is the list of players that we watched for our video analysis. We will
dive into that in the upcoming chapters.

4. Video Analysis
During the analysis process, scouts were assigned players from the data
analysis based on either their primary region covered or previously
reporting on the player. This step of the process is most important, as it
discerns the player’s level of play using the eye test while providing
context for the data points.
Furthermore, video analysis at this position is important in determining
the role each player prefers or plays in prior to making a
recommendation. Here, the right winger must fulfill a dynamic wide role
cutting inside to create rather than playing a support role, like Nygren,
or as an inside forward. Meanwhile, players such as Leguizamón and
Fernández already had transfers lined up for this window.
Despite being top options both in level and style, Gabriel Pec & Sindre
Walle Egeli would be out of Celtic’s budget.
Additionally, the current market for right-wingers is rather limited, with
few high-quality options available for clubs such as Celtic. This scarcity
became evident during our search for ideal player profiles.

5. Recommendations
This chapter includes the recommendations we have for the right-wing
position of Celtic. We will create a brief summary (based on video) of
each recommended player and analyse their data profile.

Hannes Wolf
Current club: New York City FC
Nationality: Austrian
Age: 25 (1999)
Contract expires on: 31/12/2027 (+1)
Hannes Wolf demonstrates high work rate, versatility, creativity, and
vision, though he faces limitations in pace and weak footed technique.
He has versatility to play both as an inside forward or wide midfielder
and primarily played in a counterattacking and high-pressing system in
New York. Wolf’s skillset shows signs that he could be a creative outlet
for a possession-heavy club. He excels at combining play, making
incisive passes or spreading play, and supporting offensively with
intelligent runs.
Offensively, Wolf has finished goals in a variety of ways, showcasing
adaptability in the box, though his finishes consistently took favorable
deflections. His creative assists and well-timed runs demonstrate vision,
but he struggles with rushed finishing and consistency in aerial and
weaker-footed play. While hardworking and communicative, he could
benefit from refining his technical skills and composure under pressure.
Defensively, Wolf contributes energetically to the high press and
recovers well in transition, though his 1v1 approach and closeouts lack
consistent aggression.
Because of his vision and creativity on ball along with European
experience, Wolf is a prime candidate for Celtic. He is a proven
commodity and would be a bargain to fill in at right wing despite some
of his physical limitations. SPFL is around the level Wolf has proven to be
a valuable attacker at, and he has publicly expressed his desire to return
to Europe this winter. In addition to replacing Kühn in age and profile, he
would provide a German-speaking teammate for Maik Nawrocki.

The data highlights his vision and creativity on the ball, with strong
metrics in expected assists (xA) per 90 minutes, shot assists per 90
minutes, and key passes per pass. He performs above average in
expected goals (xG) per 90 minutes and scores relatively high in xG per
shot, demonstrating his ability to position himself effectively in the box,
despite his average finishing. Hannes Wolf's data profile also indicates
that he is a strong dueler, with relatively high scores in both defensive
duels and aerial duel win rate.

Matheus Gonçalves
Current club: Flamengo
Nationality: Brazilian
Age: 19 (2005)
Contract expires on: 31/12/2027
Matheus Gonçalves is a 19-year-old right-winger who can also play
down the middle as an attacking midfielder. The Brazilian winger is a
rotational player for Brazilian giants Flamengo and has gained some
experience in Brazil already. He is not the most physically imposing
winger and occasionally struggles in the duels, but his quickness on and
off the ball and ability to change directions quickly are impressive. He
works hard off the ball and displays great intensity, trying to battle for
the ball in loose ball duels and intercepting a few passes.
He carries the ball and evades tackles well, showcasing his good relation
with the ball and ability to dribble past his opponents. However, he can
occasionally be a bit inconsistent with his dribbles due to his lack of
physique in certain duels. He spots runners in behind well, displaying his
good vision and ability to find teammates with through passes. The
Brazilian winger can improve on his shot locations but has showed
glimpses of good finishing ability, although his ball-striking from
distance is quite inconsistent.
With his vision, in-swinging crosses and potential to become more
consistent with his ball-striking, I think he could score and assist a lot of
goals in the future. Matheus Gonçalves would be a decent long-term
signing for Celtic, although he would not be our favoured option as he
potentially needs some adaptation time in Scotland.

His data profile highlights his creativity on the ball, as he consistently
creates scoring opportunities for his team and performs above average
in expected assists (xA) per 90 minutes. He ranks highly in possessionadjusted
interceptions, reflecting his high intensity off the ball and
proactive approach to duels. Although his shot locations are not ideal,
he appears to be an above-average finisher; however, this assessment
is based on a limited sample of 771 minutes.

Santiago Hidalgo
Current club: CA Independiente
Nationality: Argentinian
Age: 19 (2005)
Contract expires on: 31/12/2025
Santiago Hidalgo, a 19-year-old striker and right winger for CA
Independiente, has quickly emerged as a regular starter after debuting
in 2022. He is also part of the Argentina U-20 squad at the Sudamericano
U-20.
The Argentinian attacker is a versatile player who can both be a striker
and a winger. He is very quick on short and long distances and changes
directions quickly. Hidalgo is strong on the ball and good through the air
despite the fact he is only 1.74 meters tall. He has a strong build.
Playing as a winger for Independiente, Hidalgo displays excellent timing
to make supporting runs for Avalos, showcasing his tactical intelligence
and willingness to get into dangerous areas centrally. He attacks space
in behind excellently and gets into great positions to score, although his
finishing has been below average for Independiente.
Santiago Hidalgo is far from a natural dribbler but holds his own in
attacking 1v1s due to his speed and strength on the ball. He creates a
few chances with his crossing but is not the most creative either.
The Argentinian attacker is an outstanding talent but we have doubts
whether he is the right profile for Celtic as he is not a natural dribbler.
However, he can act as an inside forward with an overlapping right-back
behind him and has the level to be a good player in the Scottish league
already.

Santiago Hidalgo's data profile is intriguing, as he records high expected
goals (xG) per 90 minutes and xG per shot, while also performing well in
possession-adjusted interceptions and aerial duel win rate. His data
indicates a lack of creativity on the ball but highlights a high volume of
dribbles. Additionally, his finishing is currently below average, having
converted few goals despite generating a significant amount of xG.